


Baloo, Mom, and the True Prophet

by LadyRa



Series: Macavity [6]
Category: Jurassic World (2015), NCIS, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Claire Dearing is Owen Grady's love interest from JW, F/M, Just mentions of Jurassic world, M/M, Movie Violence, canon death from avengers, freaky house sex, set after thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 12:06:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6374128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRa/pseuds/LadyRa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>6th story in the Macavity Series.  Set a few weeks after Blue.  Someone's trying to kill Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baloo, Mom, and the True Prophet

**Author's Note:**

> We're back to the regular crowd in this story, although there are mentions of Owen and the Raptors, and I bring Claire Dearing into the universe. (Thanks to Nane for that suggestion!). We're back to slash! 
> 
> Thanks to Annie, Susan for betas, and Crissy and Nane for alpha reading!

Phil and Clint got back very late or, Gibbs thought more truthfully, rubbing his eyes, very early. It was three am, and Gibbs would have been glad to stay in bed but the animals raised such a welcoming ruckus when the two men got home, there was no hope for sleep until the welcome-back-home ritual was complete.

Raksha was doing her usual leaping around Clint, thrilled he was home, just as Tucker was doing around Phil. And that wasn't including the hawks, the scorpions--all of whom felt they had a vested interest in Clint after saving him--and then all the other animals who thought almost anything was cause for a celebration.

Baloo lumbered over to give Phil one of his bear hugs, which always got Clint and Tony laughing. Gibbs thought it was because of the look on Phil's face, half: 'really, do we have to do this again?' and half: 'Baloo really does give the best bear hugs'. 

"Everything go okay?" Gibbs asked. He and Tony had been enjoying their first night back at home. They'd been staying with Stark the last few days, but Stark was currently with Rhodey on a business trip and away from Obadiah Stane, so Gibbs grabbed the chance to come home for a few days. 

Mom and the other rats around Tony Stark's house were having fun spying on Stark’s uncle to try to get proof of whatever it was Stane was planning. There was no doubt he’d try to get back at Stark, given Stane’s incandescent fury about Tony Stark's new stance on stopping weapons production.

"Thor," Clint enthused. "Seriously. Thor. Like from another world, Asgard Gods and all that jazz! Unbelievable."

Gibbs saw Phil's jaw tighten, guessed the whole thing was top secret and Clint really shouldn't be talking about it, but then Phil relaxed, as if he knew the secrets were in safe hands. "You'll be read in on it if he comes back,” Phil said. “Right now he's gone back to Asgard, and we're not sure he'll be back."

"That's cool," Tony said, sitting down next to Gibbs, a bag of mini-marshmallows in his hand. Gibbs guessed hot chocolate for everyone was on its way. "Sort of not believing you, but very cool."

"Believe it," Phil said. "He even had his hammer. And his brother, Loki," he added with a grimace.

"Who we hope we never see again," Clint said. "I guess he comes by the nickname "the Trickster" honestly."

"Okay, if Phil is saying it, I guess I have to believe it," Tony continued.

"Hey," Clint complained, but his heart wasn't in it.

Tony got up and, when he returned, he had mugs of hot chocolate that he dispersed to the four of them. He grabbed a handful of marshmallows for his mug and then shoved the bag at Clint. Clint took two handfuls, one for his mug, and one to cram in his mouth. "I love these things," he said through a mouth filled with mini-marshmallows.

"I know," Tony said cheerfully through his own mouth full of marshmallows.

Phil rolled his eyes, but Gibbs could see the slight turn-up of his lips and the crinkles around his eyes.

Clint finished his mouthful and then turned to Tony. "And then, to make it even more awesome, Thor had this Obi-Wan Kenobi moment. He did this sensing thing, like sniffing the air, and said, 'I sense a disturbance in the force'."

Tony choked on a sip of hot chocolate. "He actually said that?"

"No," Phil said. "He said something about feeling an unexpected presence, and I suspect he was talking about his brother."

"For a weird moment, I thought he was talking about you," Clint said to Tony. "But unless you're from another realm and don't know it, Phil's probably right."

"Although Thor does have the all-speak thing going on," Phil said, eyeing Tony. "He can speak to anyone and anything. Or so I was told. I didn't actually see it happening."

"All I can do is speak to animals," Tony said. "And, while my dad is a bit of a jerk, I don't think he or my mom were beings from another realm."

Gibbs didn't like the speculative look in Phil's eyes. "What are you thinking?"

"That we don't know where this power of Tony's comes from," Phil mused.

"And you think it might be from another planet?" Tony asked, his voice rising almost to a squeak.

Phil considered Tony for a moment, and then he shrugged. "Doubtful."

"Why do I not find that reassuring?" Tony said, grabbing another handful of marshmallows and throwing them at Phil.

Somehow, through some power only Phil Coulson had, he caught them all. Not a single one fell to the floor, his lap, or the table.

"That is so hot," Clint told Phil.

"Oh, God," Gibbs said. "Let me and Tony go back to sleep before you crawl all over him, otherwise we'll all be up all night."

"Having freaky house sex," Clint said with a leering grin.

"I like freaky house sex," Tony said, looking hopefully at Gibbs.

"How is this my life?" Gibbs complained, although he had to admit, after he'd gotten past the weirdness of it, he liked what Tony and Clint had come to call freaky house sex, when they both were having sex with their partners and could feel each other through all the animal links. 

"You love it," Tony said, drinking the last of his hot chocolate. "Come on, time for sex. I mean bed. Time for bed."

Clint clapped his hands together. "Maybe we should all sleep in the same bed."

"No," came at him sternly from Phil and Gibbs.

"Okay, okay," Clint said, hands up in a placating gesture. He and Tony grinned at each other. "I wasn't talking about us all having sex together, but it would be nice to puppy pile afterwards."

Raksha had shown Clint the wonders of a puppy pile, and Clint wanted puppy piles all the time. Fortunately, most of the animals were all over that, literally.

Gibbs just got up, grabbed Tony's hand, and dragged him upstairs and off to bed. If this was going to happen, Gibbs planned to lead the charge. 

"I guess that means no?" Clint called up after them, laughing. 

"That means no," Gibbs muttered, slamming Tony into a hallway wall to kiss him, making sure that Tony knew that he was Gibbs' and only Gibbs'.

"Mmm," Tony said, into Gibbs' lips, "I love it when you go all grrr over me." Tony wrapped one leg around Gibbs' thigh, pushing against him, already hard.

Another benefit, and sometimes embarrassment, from getting younger was the ability to get hard in an instant and, on some days, when Gibbs was feeling randy, it was agony to walk around all day with a half hard erection watching Tony be Tony, the man he adored, prancing around when Gibbs couldn't strip him down and have his way with him.

Gibbs pushed Tony's leg down, wanting to get him into the bedroom. Clint and Phil would be following them up, already feeling frisky and wanting to get to their own room. He pushed Tony into their bedroom, shutting the door behind them, and shoved Tony onto the bed.

"I also love it when you push me around," Tony said, somehow staying prone but pulling all his clothes off. "Come on, lube up and get in me. I want it to hurt a little, so I can feel it tomorrow." He rolled over onto his stomach, and hitched up his hips, his head balanced on a pillow. He spread his ass cheeks with both hands, revealing his hole, already spasming a little as if in anticipation.

Gibbs had never had sex with anyone as wanton as Tony, and it made Gibbs feel wanted to his bones, and it made him courageous enough to ask Tony to fulfill some sexual fantasies he'd had but never dared ask anyone to fulfil. Tony could be quite the dom when he needed to be. He was just as glad Phil and Clint hadn't been home for that one.

Gibbs took a second to grab some lube and a condom. They didn't need the condoms, not anymore, but it made cleanup a lot easier. He let out a moan when he saw that Tony was already preparing himself, his two index fingers inside his hole, stretching, making himself ready.

After putting on the condom, Gibbs kneeled on the bed and joined his tongue to Tony's finger, enjoying the groan Tony let out. Tony loved being rimmed, and he lost all ability to do anything but make noises when Gibbs touched him that way. Gibbs added one of his fingers to Tony's, touching them inside, rubbing his fingers as much as Tony's velvet insides, something else that got Tony hot and wild.

He grinned at the animalistic noises Tony was making, grunting and writhing to the dance of fingers and tongues, his breathing already labored.

"Come on!" he heard Clint yell from down the hallway. "Let us get naked first! Jesus!"

Gibbs didn't think that comment even registered with Tony, but Gibbs grinned evilly, enjoying the thought of what he was doing to Clint and Phil. He'd give them some freaky house sex.

He put his tongue back to good use, managing to get some lube on his erection. "Pull out, Tony," he said, "I've got something else to stuff inside you."

Tony just groaned, so Gibbs pulled out the man's fingers, lined himself up, and thrust inside, bottoming out right away, losing his own breath at the feel of Tony's heat. 

The groan this time was guttural, and Gibbs grabbed Tony's hips and started to ride Tony hard, just how he liked and, at that exact moment, he could feel Clint and Phil and the sex they were having, and their love for each other, and for him and Tony, and he could feel all the animals in the house loving them and cuddling with whatever animal was close by, enjoying the sensuality that was filling the house, every room, every floor.

And in the midst of it, Gibbs continued to press in, hitting Tony's prostate, reaching around to wrap his fingers around Tony's cock, and it didn't last long after that, with Tony coming, and the spasms squeezing against Gibbs' erection, and then he was shooting inside of Tony, wishing he could climb inside of Tony and never, ever come out.

Gibbs pulled off the condom and disposed of it, and then they both collapsed, still feeling Phil and Clint going at it, letting the dreaminess of their connection wash over them, as they leisurely kissed and kissed and kissed until they fell asleep.

*****

The next morning, he and Tony were outside enjoying the morning sun, as Tony checked to see if any new critters had shown up to bite him and join the party. 

Gibbs, for a moment that he would hate himself for later, after hearing the sharp crack, thought it was a car backfiring out on the distant main road. But, the next moment, as his mind started to reevaluate, and he stood there, paralyzed with disbelief, as he saw a bloom of red grow on Tony's chest.

For another moment he couldn't afford, all Gibbs knew was a black panic that consumed him; the sharp focused NCIS investigator was gone to some far distant land. All that was left standing was a man who was deathly afraid he'd just lost the love of his life. 

He recovered at the same time the animals did. They erupted in anger and fear, ratcheting up Gibbs' emotions almost past the bearing of it, and they, unlike him, leapt into productive action, the larger animals creating a living barrier between Tony and the threat, Baloo providing the largest barrier, standing tall in front of Tony, and the rest of them going after whoever shot Tony with extreme prejudice in their hearts.

As Tony's knees startled to buckle, Gibbs forced himself to move and managed to keep Tony from falling flat on his face onto the ground. Gibbs heard Macavity snarling and spitting as he circled Tony the best he could, jockeying for position with Gibbs and Baloo and Raksha and Tucker and Louie and Hooch and a hundred other animals wanting to get to and protect Tony. In the midst of his terrified fury, Gibbs couldn't help but notice that Macavity kept walking through Tony's blood, seemingly unaware of his wet and bloody paws. 

Gibbs grabbed Macavity, something superstitious in his soul telling him that the angry cat would keep Tony from dying, and he put him on Tony's thigh. Then he was yelling for Phil and Clint, both of whom were probably still asleep. He hollered at Raksha and Tucker to get the men up, and the animals ran into the house, scrabbling up the stairs. 

Even as he could feel the part of him that could function in any circumstance start to reemerge, terror still made his hands shake and his stomach roil as he attempted to feel for a pulse. There was an exit wound on Tony's back, near his right shoulder blade, so the bullet didn't ricochet inside his body, doing even more damage than getting a hole punched through his chest. He laid Tony down, applying pressure to his chest wound, wondering where the fuck everyone was.

Just at that very instant, Clint and Phil ran from the house, clad only in jeans, Phil on the phone looking pissed that a helicopter wasn't already on the ground. Clint had his bow and arrow notched and ready to fly, his amazingly sharp eyes combing the woods looking for additional damage.

"Is he dead?" Clint asked, his voice tight and shaky.

"No," Gibbs said grimly. "But he's losing a lot of blood." He pushed harder, wrapping his arms around Tony, trying to put pressure on both entrance and exit wounds, wishing the blood didn't keep welling between his fingers on both sides of Tony’s body. 

The air was filled with the noises of a thousand different creatures as they let their displeasure and fear and worry be known, letting out mewls and hisses, and barks, snarls and squeaks, and it resonated inside Gibbs' head and body, until his pulse seemed to beat in irregular time with all the noise. He wanted to offer consolation to any or all of them, but it was all he could do to keep his own act together. 

Macavity was now curled up in the hollow of Tony's neck, on the side opposite the wound, making little noises into Tony's ear, occasionally licking his chin, his cheek, the shell of his ear. It didn't take long until Justin was next to him, his usually bright eyes filled with dread. 

Ducky finally showed up, running from the small studio they'd built on the far side of the animal lab. He knelt in Tony's blood, gasping at the scene. "Good Lord," he cried, even as he pulled open his medical kit, yanking out compression bandages. "Lift him a little," he ordered.

Gibbs did as he was told, and Ducky put a bandage under Tony, over the exit wound, and then another on his chest. Phil moved in beside Ducky to grab a bandage and, at Ducky's direction, wrapped it around Tony as many times as it would go, managing to work around Gibbs and Ducky.

One of the hawks, Rutger, flew back in, landing on the ground near Tony's head, shrieking out his anger. ---"There was no one there,"--- he said to Gibbs in his mind, sounding disgusted. 

"How is that possible?" Gibbs asked, pissed off. He needed someone to punch, badly. For the first time since they’d come back from Isla Nublar he wished they had a few velociraptors on the property, because they were so freaking fast and could have probably gotten to the shooter and ripped him into pieces. "And where the fuck is the helicopter?" It felt like it had been years already, with way too much of Tony's blood outside of his body. 

Sam, the bald eagle, landed next to Rutger, a casing clutched in his left talon. Phil grabbed a glove from Ducky's med kit and put it on, then accepted the casing. "You two are the snipers," Phil said, holding it up for Gibbs and Clint to see.

Clint was the one to put on a glove, leaving Gibbs to keep his hands on Tony, and took the casing. "Denel NTW-20. 14.5 by 114 mm. Nasty piece of work. Whoever this was could have been well over a mile away, and he's a hell of a shot to even hit Tony through all these trees." He glanced at Sam. "You want to show me where you found this?"

Sam nodded his head and then tapped Hooch on his flank with a wing. Hooch turned to look at them, his droopy bloodhound features looking more sorrowful than usual. The eagle chirruped at Hooch, and Hooch sniffed the casing.

"The last time I saw one of these was in South Africa. Remember that, Phil?"

Phil nodded, face tight.

Gibbs might have asked for more information but their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter approaching. "Thank Christ," Gibbs said. The only thing keeping him sane was the heartbeat under his fingertips, even if it was rapid and slightly irregular. He just had to hope that Tony's rapid healing would help him with this just like it did with all the venom he'd been exposed to.

Rock was suddenly there on Tony's thigh, looking hostile even for a scorpion, turning in circles, as if he was just hoping for a reason to sting someone. 

"We find him," Clint said to Rock, voice heavy with the promise of pain, "you can have a shot at him. You and about a thousand other animals around here. And I'm personally putting an arrow through his balls." He glanced at Tony and then at Gibbs. "Still alive?"

Gibbs nodded grimly. "And he's staying alive."

"Got it. I'll meet you at Shield Medical later."

As the helicopter landed, Clint took Raksha, Hooch, Rock, and Sam, Hooch in the front passenger seat, head out the window, Raksha in back, her eyes on Tony until they were out of sight. Rock was on the dashboard, hanging on to the phone mount, and Sam flew overhead as they drove off to find the location of the sniper’s shot. 

*****

Tony was in surgery and Gibbs was in the waiting room as people started to trickle in. First, oddly enough, was Tony Stark. "You leave my house for one day and this happens?" he griped.

"I thought you were with Rhodey," Gibbs said. He had a tight hold on Macavity, who was very unhappy and kept trying to escape to find Tony. Every now and then he'd let out an ear-splitting yowl. Justin was just as unhappy, pacing the room, then climbing up to Gibbs' lap for some comfort, then going back to pacing. Rutger was pacing Justin, flying from one side of the room to the other as well and, every now and then, letting out a shriek, echoing Macavity. None of it was helping Gibbs' headache or nerves. He could only be grateful they weren't in a civilian hospital dealing with other people.

"I was. And he’s not happy I left."

"I could have called and given you updates," Gibbs said. 

Stark shot him a look, and Gibbs decided to shut up. The two Tonys had become instant friends, and Gibbs guessed that Tony Stark didn't have too many people he called friends. 

"I can get him the best surgeons in the world if he needs them," Stark said, his fingers flying over his computer pad.

"Let's see how things are going," Gibbs said, "but I might take you up on that." He'd just lost so much blood. Granted, as soon as he'd been put on the helicopter they'd started replacing fluids, but Gibbs had still been drenched in red. 

He'd been able to change, because somehow, in the seconds between the helicopter arriving and taking off, Phil had managed to collect a change of clothes for Gibbs and put a bag in his hand. Sometimes Gibbs wondered what they'd do without Phil and Clint in their lives, and for someone who had lived for so long as a solitary man, that was a humbling admission. 

It was good, though, as the helicopter took off with him and Tony, along with a few animal stowaways that Gibbs hadn't had the energy to make leave, that Phil was still there, on the ground, and that he'd take care of anything that needed it. He'd calm down the rest of the animals, give Baloo a hug, and then, just when Gibbs wished like hell he was with him, he'd magically show up with whatever Gibbs needed. Gibbs wasn't quite at that point yet and, now that Stark was here, Gibbs guessed he'd want for nothing.

"Do we know who did it?"

"No," Gibbs said. "Clint recognized the shell casing as something he'd seen in South Africa, but we didn't have time for a discussion. He went to find the nest." Gibbs glanced at his watch; Clint should have been back by now. He had a dreadful moment of panic that maybe the sniper had still been there and even now Clint was lying dead, but then he remembered that Clint had been with Raksha and Hooch and Sam, not to mention Rock, and they wouldn't have let anything happen to Clint.

"I will fucking destroy them," Stark commented darkly.

"You'll be in good company," Phil said, choosing that moment to walk in, Clint right behind him.

Despite Gibbs' surety that Raksha and the rest of them would take care of Clint, he was still relieved to see him. "Did you find anything?"

"I found the nest, and another casing, but not much more. I don't think he expected to miss. He'd been there at least two days," Clint added. "There were imprints where a bag had been, in addition to the case for his weapon. Hooch found six spots where the man had peed, but he must have bagged his shit and taken it with him."

"Why didn't the animals sense him?" Gibbs didn't understand that. They always knew when someone was on the property.

"There was a lot of other pee there too, to hide his smell. He must have covered himself in it. Hooch and Raksha smelled bear, deer, raccoon, and cat piss. Even I could smell the final result. And he was pretty far away, definitely over a mile."

A red hot fury flushed through Gibbs, and it took every inch of control he'd ever had not to put his fist through a wall. 

Phil put his hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "He did miss."

"He's still in surgery," Gibbs pointed out. "We don't know how much damage was done."

"The magic will help him heal," Clint said. "You can't think of him like a normal person. He's not."

Gibbs shot a furious look at Clint, but then closed his eyes, letting out a breath. Clint was right. Tony wasn't normal, and he did heal fast; in fact, he healed faster all the time, as if he was drawing strength from all the creatures he was bonded with. 

"I’m getting coffee," Clint said.

"Don't bother," Stark said. "Coffee and food is on the way." He glanced at Gibbs. "Along with some additional security staff. There's no reason to think the fucker won't try again and the helicarrier has a fuck ton of agents doing squat right now, so we might as well give them something to do." He grimaced like he thought Gibbs might deck him for overstepping, even as he looked ready to mutiny if Gibbs disagreed.

"I should have thought of that," Gibbs capitulated, too worn out to take offense, and actually grateful for Stark's forethought. "I'm not thinking straight. I haven't been since I heard the weapon discharge. I thought it was a fucking car backfiring," he finished off, his voice loud. 

"I distinctly remember not being at my best when Clint was almost being eaten by a shark," Phil pointed out, "Cut yourself some slack. We got him here. And I agree with Clint. He might have been in danger, but the longer they keep him alive, the more time it gives his healing abilities to kick in and fix him."

"One inch lower and there wouldn't have been anything we could have done," Gibbs said, scrubbing his hands over his face and then collapsing into a chair. "Jesus."

At that moment, someone walked into the room only to find three weapons pointing at them.

"Um," the young man said.

"Okay," Stark said. "I know that shirt he's wearing is atrocious, but that's no reason to kill him. Plus, he has lunch, not to mention coffee, and if you shoot him, it will all spill on the floor."

"Plus, he's a baby agent, and Phil gets mad when someone other than him messes with the baby agents," Clint said.

Gibbs was still the last person to holster his gun. "Can you get me in to where Tony is?" he asked Phil and Stark.

"I don't think someone will try to kill him in the operating room," Clint said.

"We are on the helicarrier," Phil said, paused, then added, "But some extra security wouldn't go amiss." Phil said. "But no, the operating room isn't set up for observers and I don't think they'd let you into the operating room itself."

As far as Gibbs was concerned, as soon as he got access to Tony, the man wouldn't be by himself for a long time. Not that Gibbs being with him stopped him from getting shot. And just as that morose thought crossed his mind and he sat back down, a doctor walked into the room. Gibbs stood right back up. 

The surgeon still wore his operating scrubs and there was blood across his chest. When he saw where Gibbs' eyes were glaring, he took off the gown and balled it up.

"Sorry," he said, "but I have good news. Weird news, but good news."

"And?" Stark snapped, moving to stand next to Gibbs. "Talk."

The surgeon spread his hands wide as if to use the entire universe to explain what he was about to say. "He's really fine. His body just sort of…" He sighed, his hands flapping uselessly around. 

Gibbs told himself that the man had just helped save Tony's life and he shouldn't just punch him.

Stark, again, beat him to the metaphorical punch, "Stop with the dramatic pauses and just fucking talk."

"It was like his body simply needed to be shown what to do," the doctor said in a rush. "I'd start sewing a vein shut and then his body would finish. I'd start setting one of his ribs and his body did the rest. It was like I was just giving it a road map." He spread his hands again. "Really. It's like he had the surgery a week ago. He can probably be discharged tomorrow."

Gibbs blinked at him. 

Clint let out a whoop. "See? See? Totally not normal!" Raksha bounded around Clint, yipping with happiness, prompting a short spontaneous dance between the two of them. Rutger landed on Gibbs' left shoulder while Justin was now on his right. Macavity yowled until Phil picked him up, holding him close. The level of sheer relief in the room was palpable.

"May I see him?" Gibbs said, letting the good news percolate. It was only then that he realized he'd been preparing for bad news; hadn't let himself hope for the best.

"Sure," the surgeon said. "Good thing you brought him here and not to a regular hospital. At least here we expect weird, although that was a new one for me. That surgery should have taken several hours and we were in there for one hour. And a good part of that was getting him under and draped and ready for surgery."

Gibbs reached for Macavity who allowed himself to be handed over, despite the fact that he usually hated being manhandled. Gibbs, with Rutger and Justin on his shoulders and Raksha at his heels, followed the surgeon as he led him back to Tony.

*****

Clint finally collapsed in a chair with a grin on his face. "Good news. I love me some good news."

"We still have to find out who shot him," Phil reminded him.

"Could you let me bask for five minutes?" Clint complained. "Is that too much to ask?"

Raksha came bounding back to them. ---"I saw Tony!" she said. "He is awake! He scratched behind my ears!"---

"That is awesome," Clint said to Raksha, taking a moment to also scratch behind her ears; it was one of her favorite spots. She leaned against him, hooking her head over his thigh. "Thanks for your help today."

She snorted at that.

"You did so help," Clint contradicted her. "And you know the way you helped the most? By making Tony this whatever it is. Because that saved his life. It's like he carries little bits of all of you inside of him, so he has a zillion lives, instead of just nine like a cat."

"Interesting theory," Stark said. "Do we really have no idea what this is? What he is?"

"No idea," Phil said. "He got a call on the eve of his 40th birthday telling him it would start at midnight, but it wasn't until Justin bit him and started talking to him that he had any idea what the call was about."

"Hmm." Stark tapped his tablet for a second. "Well, as charming as this visit was, tell Tony he owes me big for flying out here for nothing.” 

“I’m so telling Mom you said that,” Clint told him. “And I don’t even need to see her. I can do it through a Twilight Bark.”

“So that means the next time you’re being a complete idiot and almost dying for no reason, I can do it in return and have Mom contact Raksha." He paused. "And Phil.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Clint said.

“Would so," Stark said.

“Would not.”

“Would so.”

“Oh my God, really?” Phil said.

Stark pointed a finger at Clint. "I know where you live."

"And Raksha would eat you if you tried anything. Right, Raksha?"

Raksha lifted one lip, revealing a fang, and let out a long hair-raising growl. Then she let her tongue loll and grinned at Stark.

Stark barked out a laugh at that, and Clint gave her a hug, letting her lick his face to her heart's content. 

Glancing at his watch, Stark said, “Like I said, it’s been fun, but if Tony’s fine, I’m going to try to get back before Pepper knows I’m gone.”

“Too late,” Phil said. “She’s been texting me.”

“Damn it. Well, tell her I’m on my way.”

“By the way,” Phil said with a decidedly frosty air. “I thought we decided you’d say that Iron Man was your body-guard. Could you not go ten minutes without making it all about you?”

Stark scowled. “It is all about me. And I want to be Iron Man.” With a distracted wave, eyes riveted on his phone, Stark left the waiting room.

Clint snickered as Gibbs walked back into the waiting room. “He’s really okay?” he asked Gibbs.

“He’s really okay.” Gibbs said, shaking his head as if in disbelief. “He’s already griping about wanting to go home.” He sank into a chair. “Jesus Christ. I think I lost one of those decades I’d gotten back.”

Clint totally understood that. When he’d come out of the house and seen Tony on the ground covered in blood, only his years of dealing with missions gone FUBAR had kept him moving. Tony being dead equaled…well, it didn’t even bear thinking about it, and he wasn’t even the one in love with Tony.

“What would happen?” Clint said, and he grabbed Raksha and gave her a preemptive hug to help her deal with the question. “I mean, would these guys go back to normal? Would they stay the way they are, at least the ones who had bitten other people too?”

“I have no idea,” Gibbs said. “We’re learning this as we go. At least this time we’re writing this shit down, so the next person has some idea what’s going on.”

“Are you going to take Fury up on his surrogate idea?” Clint asked. “That baby would have the strangest babysitters ever.”

“I don’t know. Probably. Maybe. I have no idea,” Gibbs finally said in frustration, running his fingers through his hair, leaving it this way and that, an unusually messy look for Gibbs. 

Clint guessed he was allowed to look frazzled considering his day. 

“Anyway,” Gibbs continued, “what did that mean when you saw the casing? Who was it you ran into in South Africa?”

“I didn’t exactly run into him,” Clint said, lifting his shirt and showing Gibbs the scar that ran down his side. “I got shot by the same type of bullet while I was in South Africa.”

“We were on the hunt for an assassin going by the name ‘The True Prophet’,” Phil said. He rolled his eyes, something Clint loved to see. “First time ever that Clint’s target got to him before Clint made his own shot. He almost died.” His eyes ran over Clint as if to make sure he wasn’t still bleeding out.

“You think this assassin has been hired to take out Tony?” Gibbs asked, appalled. “I need to get back in his room, close the curtains.”

“Right now I think we're fine,” Phil said. “I've got extra agents keeping a look out, and I'm not sure how anyone would even know where we are. I mean we are in a cloaked helicarrier." 

Clint took a look out of the window and frowned. “Actually, I think anyone can figure out where we are. We’re sort of outlined by about a thousand birds.”

Phil and Gibbs joined him at the window, and despite the fact that the birds were presenting a significant safety risk, it was still an amazing sight. There had to be representatives from every local species of bird, and Clint had no doubt that they’d continue flying in from all over the place, given enough time, until birds from all over the world were here protecting Tony, and giving ornithologists a bird-thorny conundrum they’d be arguing about for years. 

Meanwhile, just the local birds covered the helicarrier to the point that there was barely a spot free, and he doubted that it looked like a normal swarm of birds to anyone down on the ground.

Phil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I need to tell Fury to find some cloud coverage.” He left the room at a quick pace.

*****

Tony lay in bed pouting, just a little bit. After all, he was the one who’d gotten shot and he was in his hospital bed, alone.

Justin squeaked at him.

“Sorry, buddy,” Tony said, patting the rat gently. “And you, too,” he said to Rutger.

There was a hiss from the bottom of the bed. 

“Jesus,” Tony said, recoiling with a laugh. “Sorry, Macavity. Clearly, I have nothing to complain about seeing as I’m in the presence of the three most important members of my family.” He eyed Macavity warily. The cat might be his consigliore, but that didn’t mean Tony wouldn’t get swiped with a set of angry claws if Macavity wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

Macavity eyed him back and then crawled up the bed to head butt his chin.

Tony let out a huff of relief. He must have really scared Macavity for the cat to be that forgiving. “Thanks,” he whispered to the cat, scratching his ears. “Thanks for sticking close. All of you.” Of course, what he’d really been complaining about was Gibbs. He’d stayed for all of five minutes and then left right after Raksha went bounding out of there like her tail was on fire.

He supposed he didn’t have any reason to complain. By all rights, he should be dead. If he was a normal person, he would be dead. Tony covered the small scar that was all that remained after his injury just a few hours ago. 

Rutger rested on the window sill, looking out, letting out an inquisitive sound.

“What’s going on?” Tony shifted his legs until he was sitting on the side of the bed. Gibbs would probably head slap him for getting up, but that’s what the man got for abandoning Tony. He walked over to the window, dragging his IV pole along for the ride, and peered out. “Holy shit!” He didn’t think he’d ever stop being amazed and humbled at the care all the animals showed him. Countless birds were all over the carrier, no doubt playing protector for him.

“Mr. Popular,” Gibbs said dryly from the doorway.

Tony snorted. “It’s a mixed blessing some days.”

“Tell them to scatter,” Gibbs said. “If anyone is looking for you, they’ve painted a bullseye pointing right to you.”

Tony pouted, hating to let the birds know they were doing more harm than good, but he sent out a ‘thank you very much, but time to go home’ message to everyone.

Rutger let out an angry shriek at the same time that Gibbs’ phone began to ring.

“That can’t be good,” Tony said, pulling the IV from his hand, and holding his finger over the exit wound. “I gather we’re moving.”

Just at that moment, an announcement came from the speakers overhead: “Evacuate the medical area immediately. This is not a drill. All personnel in Zone 2 and Zone 3 must evacuate to the…”

The message continued to drone on as Gibbs grabbed a wheelchair and pushed Tony into it, racing out of the room with Justin, Rutger and Macavity running alongside until Justin leaped onto Tony’s lap.

“Uh,” Tony said, “what’s going on?”

“Phil and Fury took a look at the ground, and someone has a long range grenade launcher aimed at this area,” Gibbs said even as he ran.

It kind of turned Tony on that Gibbs was in such good shape even as he got that it was not an appropriate time. He could see that other patients were being escorted out at all speed.

“This way,” Clint said, suddenly appearing, taking them left when almost everybody else went right. “Short cut.”

Tony saw that most everyone pivoted to follow Clint. 

That was when the area they’d just left went up in flames and, soon after, a response team poured into the area geared up with gasmasks and fire extinguishers in hand. Everyone had to fight to stay on their feet until the ship stabilized.

Clint took a moment to check things out and rejoined them, looking very grim. “That was your room.”

“Rutger,” Tony said, craning his neck to make eye contact with the hawk. “Get someone to follow that guy.”

Rutger let out a determined “Kree!” and flew off back the way they’d come.

“Wait!” Tony yelled, not wanting the hawk to get hurt. He could still hear things falling, and the heavy hiss of fires being put out.

Clint again went to see what was going on and came back, saying, “He flew out the huge hole in the wall. I’m guessing he wants to shit on this guy personally.”

“Are we safe enough for the moment?” Gibbs asked. “Can the helicarrier stay in the air with a hole in her?”

“Yeah,” Clint said. “We’re low enough not to have to worry about atmosphere being a problem, and whatever compensating that needs to be done is being done.”

“So do we know who this guy is?” Tony asked. “It sort of sounds like you know who this guy is.” He didn’t like being out of the loop. 

“We think it’s an assassin called the True Prophet,” Clint said, leading them down a long hallway to a set of service elevators. He filled Tony in while they waited for the elevator.

*****

Abby stared at the limousine outside the door. “Ducky?”

“Yes, my dear?” came the response from deeper in the house. They’d come over to the main house to make themselves lunch.

“Did you call for a limousine?”

“No,” he answered, joining her at the front door. 

Abby chewed her bottom lip. She had already done a dance around the house after hearing that Tony would be fine, but she wasn’t crazy about unexplained limousines. She guessed there was nothing else for it but to find out what was going on. Just as she was about to take her first step outside, Baloo brushed by her, taking a moment to give her a hug. Then the bear gave Ducky a hug.

Abby made him hug her again, which he happily did. “Thanks Baloo!” she said happily. Then, as her eyes grew even wider, Baloo lumbered down the steps and, after the driver opened the door for him, got in the vehicle.

He waved at her and Ducky as the limousine drove away.

“Okay,” Abby said, “did that seem weird to you?”

“Even for this place, it seems a little odd,” Ducky replied.

Abby called Gibbs. 

“Gibbs,” was his snapped out answer.

“Um,” Abby began.

“Make it quick, Abs,” Gibbs said, “we’re in the middle of an evacuation.”

“Okay, right, well a limousine just came and picked up Baloo.”

There was a long pause, then a muttered, “You talk to her,” and then Tony said, “Hey Abs, what’s going on?”

“Baloo just got in a limousine and it drove him away. He waved at me out the back window.”

“That’s different,” Tony said with a snicker. “It had to be Stark who sent it. I don’t know too many other people with limousines just hanging around to pick up stray bears.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know, let me see if I can reach Baloo.”

There was a longer pause this time, and after a while, Abby could hear Tony laughing. Then he said, sounding much more serious, “So he’s there alone with Stane? God damn it. Gibbs, Tony Stark went back to his New York home and he’s alone there with Stane. Apparently Mom sent for Baloo for back up.” Then to Abby, “Did you hear that?”

Abby grinned. “Yeah, Mom’s awesome!”

“That she is. I actually feel better that Baloo will be there, but we’ll drop by and make sure everything is okay. Stark’s as stubborn as Gibbs.”

“I heard that,” Gibbs said through the phone on Tony’s end.

Abby let out a chuckle. “Have I told you how glad I am that you’re alive? Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I will do my very best. Everything okay there? Everyone calmed down?”

“No,” Abby said with an ‘as if’ noise. “No one will be okay until they see you again, are you kidding? They’re making do, but they all need to see you with their own eyes.”

“Tell everyone we’ll be back as soon as we get back from Stark’s.”

“Tony, you just got shot,” Gibbs complained, loud enough for Abby to easily hear. “You should at least stay overnight.”

“Stay where?” Tony asked. “My hospital room went kaboom.”

“What?” Abby yelled.

“Ah,” Tony said, “I’ll fill you in later. I’m fine. Gibbs is fine. Clint and Phil are fine. We’re all fine.”

“Tony,” Abby said with a fierce warning in her voice. “You are not allowed to almost die again today. Or ever!”

“Got it. I’m on it, Abs, but I really gotta go. Talk to you later,” and Tony hung up.

Ducky looked worried. “Is everything okay?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Hard to tell with those two, but I can say that they’re both still talking.”

Ducky grinned. “As long as Tony is talking, then things are normal enough. What adventure is Baloo off on?”

“Apparently Mom wanted him to come over and play,” Abby said with a beaming grin.

“Ah, what an amazing adventure we’ve been invited to be a part of,” Ducky said with some satisfaction. “I hope to live a hundred more years to see what happens.”

“You’re already looking younger, Ducky,” Abby said, “so you might just get your wish.”

*****

Tony Stark sat at his desk, making a pile of the paperwork he needed to take with him. He knew his uncle was in the house, but Mom had checked it out and reported that he was taking a nap, so Tony was fairly confident that he could get in and out without running into him. Besides, he had his suit under his desk, and he had Mom and Death Stalker on his desk. She had finally stopped yelling at him when he’d agreed to send for Baloo. It wasn’t every day that Tony got to order a limousine for a bear. He sincerely hoped that Baloo stuck his head out the window and gave New York a show.

Grinning, Tony focused back on his desk, determined to get out of here as soon as he could.

*****

Gibbs was not happy. They’d left the carrier and were currently in a car being driven by Clint, but his paranoia was playing tricks on him, and all he could see were people trying to kill Tony. That was twice in one day. Both way too close.

“I think we should check on Tony,” Tony said. “I don’t like that he’s alone with Stane, and yeah, Mom’s all that, but she’s really little.”

“I think we should go after the True Prophet and put him out of business,” Gibbs said. 

“Yeah,” Clint agreed, “third time’s the charm.”

Gibbs scowled at Clint.

“I’m just saying,” Clint defended himself, “We should totally go put a bullet through his head before he gets lucky, and then go celebrate.”

“Mom was nervous, though,” Tony said. “I don’t want her to get hurt trying to defend Tony. And DS could get stepped on by someone with big boots. Maybe we could split up?”

“No!” came at him from every direction.

“Okay, okay. Jeez,” Tony complained. “At least Baloo is heading over there. Can we send some SHIELD Agents too?” he asked Phil.

What Gibbs really wanted to do was hide Tony in a panic room somewhere until the True Prophet was nothing but a bleeding bag of bones, but he could only imagine Tony’s response to that request. Besides, as crazy as it sounded, as fast as Tony recovered, he was probably the safest among them.

“I can,” Phil said, as he pulled out his phone and asked Maria Hill to arrange for several agents to get themselves to Tony Stark’s home.

Silence descended in the car as they drove along, watching as one bird after another swooped down to get a look inside before making sure they were following.

“Handy,” Clint said. 

“I keep worrying we’re going to hit one of them,” Tony said, watching as the next bird representative, a little goldfinch, swooped down dangerously close to the front window of their car which was going at a respectable speed. He put his hand out and the bird flew to him and landed on his open palm, and allowed Tony to bring her into the car. “Hey little one,” he crooned.

She was very excited to be with him, and chirped her little heart out.

Laughing, he said, “You are obviously the first goldfinch I’ve met since this whole crazy thing began, because I can’t understand a thing you’re saying. Go ahead and beak me.”

Instead, she carefully raked her tiny talon over his skin, drawing blood. Then she started cheerfully chirping again.

Gibbs enjoyed the good humor on Tony’s face as he listened to whatever the little bird had to say. “She telling a good joke?” he asked Tony.

Tony snickered. “She’s telling me all the best places to get lunch, assuming you like bird seed. She’s got the entire city triangulated for bird feeders. Thanks,” he told the bird. 

The bird flew to his shoulder and looked as if she was settling in.

“I guess she’s going home with us,” Tony told Gibbs. “I have a lot of bird feeders, too,” he promised her.

She chirped several more times, a smug happiness evident in every note. He carefully caressed her feathers. “You are a very pretty bird,” he said, deciding that she deserved to be smug.

Another bird dive bombed them, choosing to cling to the car by attaching himself to the left windshield wiper. Gibbs rolled his eyes at the thing, considering it was obstructing a good deal of his view. “Yes, yes, we’re coming,” he assured the bird.

“You know,” Tony said, “it might be a coincidence, but this is the way to Tony Stark’s place.”

“I was just thinking that,” Clint said. “And that means we’ll get there first.”

Phil again began dialing numbers and when someone answered, barked: “I need a connection between the True Prophet and Obadiah Stane or Tony Stark.”

*****

Tony Stark closed his briefcase with a sense of relief, his anxiety growing with every extra minute he spent in the house. He’d grown up in this house, much of it with his uncle, and he’d always felt safe, so to feel otherwise added this sense of unreality and dread. And, of course, that was when his Uncle Obadiah walked into the room just as Mom let out an alarmed squeak. Tony kept the desk between them, eyeing his uncle with trepidation, hoping against hope that he wasn’t as bad a man as Mom made him out to be.

“Tony,” Obadiah said, his voice sounding apologetic.

Mom hissed at his uncle, and just barely moved out of the way to avoid Obadiah’s swinging hand.

\---“Where’s Baloo? Is he close?”--- Tony asked Mom. ---“And get under something, I don’t want you getting hurt!”---

\---“I won’t let him hurt you!”--- Mom said, hissing at Obadiah again. ---“And Baloo just got here.”---

Okay, Tony could do this, he just had to distract Obadiah until Baloo got up here. Except that was when Obadiah lunged across the desk and injected Tony with something that made him seize up, unable to move, and he fell back onto the couch. He had created this prototype, Tony said scathingly to himself. Good job.

Mom screeched and leaped on top of Obadiah, scratching him, trying to bite him, and Obadiah grabbed her in his fist and threw her against the wall. She fell to the floor in a heap, and Tony desperately tried to tell if she was alive, but it was like whatever Obadiah had given him had frozen his ability to feel the bond. Unless she was dead, and that was why he couldn’t feel her, but Tony was not, not, not willing to go there.

DS, his scorpion, scuttled to Obadiah, but before he could get to skin, Obadiah shook him off and tried to stomp on him. DS skittered away from him, but Obadiah emptied the trash can and placed it over DS. “I need to take care of Tony first,” Obadiah said, “But then I will enjoy pulling off your legs and watching you die.”

Tony could hear DS ram into the walls of the trash can as if he might turn it over but, while he was tough, Tony didn’t think he had the mass to knock the can over.

“Or maybe,” Obadiah said as a man entered Tony’s office, “my friend Imran, affectionately known as the True Prophet, might like to take you apart. I understand you killed his brother, and a large number of his brother’s army.” He put his foot on the trash can and smiled at the other man, pointing at the can. “Another one of your enemies, my friend,” he said with an oily grin.

Tony could only see the man because he’d fallen facing the door. A man, clearly middle eastern, moved to stand next to Obadiah, ignoring the trash can. “This is your nephew?” Imran asked scornfully.

“Yes, more’s the pity. I put up with him when he left running the business to me; after all, he is a genius, but he’s in the way now,” Obadiah said.

Tony was trying to piece things together, but his body was in agony, and his thinking was compromised. Mostly he was just worried about Mom and DS, and filled with hatred for this assassin for trying to kill one of the few men Tony counted as a trustworthy friend. 

“I will enjoy watching you die,” Imran said. “And then, I will continue to avenge my brother Raza. I have been told that this man, Anthony DiNozzo, is close to you, like a brother. I might have been unsuccessful in my earlier attempts, and I am sorry I cannot see your face after I do it, but rest assured, I will kill him and anyone else who is close to you.”

Tony knew that DiNozzo had to be on his way; he had no doubt Baloo had told him of his limousine adventure, and Tony didn’t think he could stand it if DiNozzo came over to help him and got shot. Tony tried to mentally reach Mom, tried to reach DS, needing someone to warn DiNozzo, but there was nothing. Finding nothing when he’d so recently had constant mental company made him feel lonelier than he’d ever been, and that was saying something considering the solitary life he’d lived before being introduced to the magical menagerie. 

Obadiah started unbuttoning Tony’s shirt. “Tony, when I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give.” He had Tony’s shirt open, his fingers on the arc reactor. “Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?”

Tony was screaming inside, trying to force his body to move, but he was helpless as Obadiah tapped on the arc reactor, ‘shave and a haircut’, Imran grinning all the while.

“Oh, it’s beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart.”

Tony could feel his heart lurch as Obadiah clamped something over his reactor.

*****

Tony DiNozzo’s head exploded with Mom’s screeching, Baloo’s bellows, and something vicious and deadly, which he assumed came from DeathStalker. “Shit,” he said, grabbing his head. “Something bad is happening at Tony’s,” he gasped out.

“We’re there,” Phil said. “Turn here, Clint.”

“Already on it,” Clint said, turning sharply. 

Tony kept his hands on his temple, gritting his teeth. “Baloo says a voice named Jarvis is opening doors for him.”

“He must have opened the gate for us as well,” Clint observed, as he gunned it through the open gates and came to an abrupt stop at Tony Stark’s front door. All the men piled out and ran inside, listening to Baloo’s angry roars above their heads.

*****

Tony could have cried with relief when he heard Baloo bellow, especially when the next thing that happened was Baloo breaking down the door and charging at Obadiah and Imran. Imran let out a yell of fear, and it was the last thing he ever did because Baloo swiped at his neck with a paw full of deadly claws, then Imran was grabbing his neck, as blood spurted out in a fatal spray.

Baloo tipped over the trash can and advanced menacingly at Obadiah, who held one hand up as if it might stop a full-sized pissed off bear from killing him. It only took a few steps back for his uncle to move out of his peripheral vision, but he watched as DS scuttled over to sting Imran, even though the man was quickly bleeding out. He guessed DS wanted the man to suffer as much as possible as he lay there dying. Tony mentally cheered him on.

DS next scuttled under the couch and then Tony heard Obadiah swear, “What the hell was that!” Tony was actually able to smile a little bit, and he realized the paralytic was finally starting to wear off. 

That was when DiNozzo, Barton, Gibbs and Coulson barged through the door. Obadiah swore again in pain, and then Baloo leaped, and DiNozzo was obviously happy to let Baloo and DS do whatever they were doing as he made a beeline for Tony. 

“Tony, are you all right?” DiNozzo asked.

All Tony could do was barely point and say, “Mom.”

Tony turned his head and saw Mom laying ominously still on the floor, and he raced over there, carefully picking her up. 

“Alive?” Tony forced out. He was deathly afraid she was dead. He could feel his eyes fill with tears, and wished like hell he could move more of his body. It frustrated him that DiNozzo wasn’t talking and he gritted out, “Alive?”

DiNozzo remained silent as he held Mom in his hand, covering her with the other, while he bowed his head and closed his eyes.

DS came scuttling over, crawling up DiNozzo’s pants until he sat on the hand covering Mom. Then Baloo came over and nosed at DiNozzo’s hands, and Tony took some courage from him because Baloo was only making curious sounds, not sounds of sadness. He’d come to know Baloo well enough to know the bear wore his emotions on his sleeve where anyone could see them.

He felt the paralysis finally leave him, although he hurt everywhere, as if he’d just gone nine rounds with Baloo, but he forced himself to get up, moving over to DiNozzo, grateful when Clint got a hand under his elbow, keeping him from falling over sideways as he knelt down in front of him, his eyes on Mom, trying to clear his head so he could feel her. And then, suddenly, he could, and he lost his balance. Despite Clint reaching for him, he landed on his ass. He couldn’t care less as he let out a gasp of relief. “Jesus,” he panted, feeling out of breath.

DiNozzo smiled down at him. “She’s still hurt, I think her leg is broken, so we’ll have to bring her to Ducky, but she’s okay now. I tried to take most of her pain away.”

“May I?” Tony asked, impatient to be holding her.

“Of course,” DiNozzo said, carefully transferring her from his hand to Tony’s. “She’s one tough little rat.”

“She saved my life bringing Baloo here,” Tony said, holding her close, sending her love and affection, and smiling when DS joined him, standing over Mom as if protecting her. Baloo nosed at her gently, and Tony said, “Thanks, Baloo,” his throat tight with relief and gratitude. He pointed at the very dead man on the floor with his throat ripped out. “That’s your wannabe assassin.”

That got Gibbs’ attention, and he crouched down next to the man; Tony could see his vicious relief that the man was dead. 

“Is Obadiah…” Tony didn’t finish the question. He knew he had to be, as he’d been stung by DS at least twice, and maybe attacked by Baloo, but his body was behind the couch. 

“He’s dead,” Phil said, moving into Tony’s sight. “I’m sorry.”

Tony nodded, feeling both relief and sorrow. He’d spent so much of his life with Obadiah, a lot of good years, and his betrayal still stung deeply. Tony felt a moment’s sharp gratitude for Tony DiNozzo and his very weird family being a part of his life, because it kept him from feeling completely lost. 

Mom let out a squeak, sending worried thoughts to Tony.

“I’m fine,” he told her. “Thanks to you.” He could feel a mixture of satisfaction and pain from her and he got to his feet, again appreciating Clint’s assistance. “We need to get her fixed,” he said.

“I agree,” DiNozzo said. “Will you guys clean up here?” he asked Phil and Clint.

“Yes,” Phil said. “A team’s just pulling in.”

“Come on,” Gibbs said. “I already called Dottie and Ducky. They’re expecting us.”

“I’ll bet,” DiNozzo said under his breath.

Gibbs slapped the back of DiNozzo’s head. “Really?”

DiNozzo scowled at Gibbs, but it turned into a grin when Baloo gave him a hug. When he was done, Baloo went for Phil, and then back to Tony, giving him a very careful hug considering he was holding Mom in his hands. 

“You okay to walk down to the car?” DiNozzo asked Tony.

Baloo leaned against him, down on all fours, and Tony glanced at DiNozzo.

“He says to lean on him,” DiNozzo said with a grin.

He could do that. He put one hand on Baloo’s shoulder as he walked slowly out of the room, Mom held close to his chest, DS clamped onto his shirt collar, so he could watch over Mom. As he left, he did not look behind the couch to see his uncle’s dead body.

*****

It didn’t take long for Mom’s leg to heal, and Tony Stark stayed at Tony and Gibbs’ place so he could keep her company. Not that she lacked for any company given how many people and animals dropped by regularly to check on her.

Gibbs walked into the vet center to do his own checking. There were a couple of animals in here, including the little goldfinch who was about to lay her eggs, having chosen Ducky’s office to build her nest. Other than Tony, the goldfinch liked Ducky best, and Ducky was, in his own words, tickled pink to have her company.

Louie the Lion was also here, having jumped off the roof on a dare from one of the squirrels, much to Tony’s and the squirrel’s vast amusement. Fortunately, he’d gotten off easy with just a sprained ankle.

“Hey,” Tony said, suddenly standing next to him, giving him a kiss. “Stark still around?”

Gibbs pointed at Stark, who was…Gibbs walked over, eyebrows high. “What are you doing?” Stark was in a circle of scorpions, cards on the floor, Oreos in the middle.

“I am trying to teach them how to play poker,” Stark said, as if that wasn’t insane.

“Oh, my God,” Tony said, laughing, “is it working?”

“Not really,” Stark said. “I have to tell them the cards, because they can’t really see them, and even then, it’s a crap shoot.” He grinned up at Tony like a crazy person. “But they’re having fun as long as I let them win an Oreo every now and then.”

Tony laughed again, crouching down, saying hello to all the lethal creatures hanging around. “Hey DS,” he said, “you taking care of Mom?”

DS clacked his pinchers two times, something Tony had taught them all as shorthand for yes. Everything else was no. They usually said no to just about everything.

“You’re a good deadly brother,” Tony commended him.

Two more clacks.

Tony smiled, then stood to glance at Mom, who looked fast asleep. Justin was curled up around her, another fabulous big brother.

“What’s our next adventure?” Stark asked, breaking up an Oreo and handing pieces around.

“As soon as Mom is better, we’re going to find Captain America,” Tony told him. “That way I get to visit with the polar bears too.”

“Sounds like fun,” Stark said with a manic grin. “Ask Claire for anything you need.”

Claire had confided in Gibbs that this hadn’t been exactly what she thought she was signing on for, but Gibbs thought she’d do fine. She was already scolding the scorpions when they hung out on her desk in Stark’s temporary office, and Macavity had stars in his eyes when he saw her. That alone told Gibbs all he needed to know. She was obviously a ball buster, even if it was covered by a very polite and pretty veneer. 

“We’re off to visit Aunt Helen,” Tony told Stark, “so I’m leaving Baloo in charge.”

Stark barked out a laugh. “Good choice. Much better than leaving me in charge.”

“That’s what I thought,” Tony said, although he had a fond smile for Stark, and knew he could handle anything that came up. 

“Where are Phil and Clint?” Stark asked.

“Away on a secret mission with Natasha,” Tony said. “I’m sure Tucker will tell Hooch who will tell me, and then I can tell you.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes as they left Stark laughing behind them, and he spent a short moment feeling sorry for Phil, who couldn’t keep a secret anymore to save his life.

The End


End file.
